This year's conference stood out because of the faculty assembled and the topics explored over the two days. The planning committee received more proposals and more interest than ever before, and simply ran out of space on the agenda — a testament to the momentum behind elder justice work in Tennessee and beyond.
At the heart of the work is a shared mission: to elevate the conversation around elder abuse and financial exploitation, and to work collaboratively toward solutions that create lasting change.
8:30 – 9:30TBI — SafeSeniorTN, the call center for financial institutions, Silver Alert & the TBI Find appPaul Greenwood, moderator · David Rausch · Andy Corbitt · Shelly Smitherman · Josh Devine · Summit Ballroom
An overview of the TBI's coordinated response with stakeholders across the state: the SafeSeniorTN public outreach campaign, the one-of-a-kind telephone hotline for financial institutions reporting suspected exploitation, and the TBI Find app carrying Silver Alerts and TNCareKits.
9:45 – 10:30U.S. Attorney's Elder Justice Initiative — "When fraud turns deadly"Phil Gentile, USPIS (retired), moderator · Mac Heavener, Assistant U.S. Attorney · Summit Ballroom
A case study examining the financial exploitation of older adults, the tactics perpetrators are using now, and the legal and investigative strategies used to prosecute financial crimes against older victims.
Tennessee launched a statewide Conservatorship Management Task Force effective 1 July 2025 to study current practice and recommend reforms — centralised data tracking, court notification, training standards and evaluation of public guardian programs — with a first report due 31 December 2025.
Concurrent · Salon A/B
Online elder scams in an artificial intelligence era
Andy Corbitt, moderator · Nick Christian, TBI
Deep-fake video and voice cloning let scammers impersonate convincingly enough to fool tech-savvy people. The anatomy of an attack, investigative methods and victim considerations.
11:45 – 12:45Lunch & general session — U.S. Postal Inspection Service: "Victim or Valentine"Phil Gentile, moderator · Jed Hutchison, U.S. Postal Inspector · Summit Ballroom
How to recognise when someone you love is being targeted by an international romance-fraud syndicate, how to start those difficult conversations, and what resources exist for someone who believes they are already a victim.
1:00 – 2:15Tennessee's financial institutions' response to financial exploitationAaron Bradley, moderator · Amy Heaslet · Kim Bohannon · Susan Haley · Schyler Johnson · Elizabeth Taylor · Summit Ballroom
The state laws that let a bank temporarily freeze or delay a suspicious transaction, refuse to honour certain powers of attorney, and hold a "trusted contact" on a depositor's file — with local bankers on what they are seeing in their own communities.
2:30 – 3:15AARP — the National Elder Fraud Coordination Center2 concurrentMia McNeil, TN AARP State Director, moderator · Paul Greenwood · Summit Ballroom
A new coordination centre spearheaded by AARP with support from Google, Amazon and Walmart, plus the fraud-prevention seminars AARP is rolling out nationally.
Concurrent · Salon A/B
New TN Emergency Medical Services initiative
Corey Grayson, Ed.D, ETAAAD, moderator · John Dabbs · David Blevins
Integrating community health worker knowledge and elder justice training into EMS practice, so crews can address social determinants of health and connect patients to community resources.
3:30 – 4:30We can't do it alone: an APS case reviewBill Benson · Patti Tosti · Thomas Hopkins · Rebecca Veazey · Mandy Morton · Summit Ballroom
A panel walking through an actual case, focused on the relationships needed to keep a client safe — the role each provider played and the coordination points between them.
8:30 – 9:30National update: elder justice initiatives & emerging prioritiesPaul Greenwood, moderator · Lance Robertson · Bill Benson · Bob Blancato · Summit Ballroom
Federal programs and policy from the Administration for Community Living, the Elder Justice Coordinating Council, the Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Implementation updates on the Elder Justice Act
APS funding, including the SSBG update
Funding opportunities under the Older Americans Act
Financial exploitation prevention and interagency collaboration
New data, research and training resources
9:45 – 10:30Elder abuse prosecution — the Martin, TN case review2 concurrentTracy Armstrong, moderator · James Hatler, 27th Judicial District · Summit Ballroom
"Success — but lessons learned." A two-year vulnerable adult abuse case walked from beginning to end: the hurdles, the competency and evaluation questions, how CREVAA supported law enforcement so the victim could get help, and where it fell short.
Concurrent · Salon A/B
The importance of creating an elder death review team
Andy Corbitt, moderator · Paul Greenwood
Why too many suspicious deaths of older adults are recorded as natural, drawn from years chairing the first San Diego County elder death review team.
10:45 – 11:30New residential license for the elderly2 concurrentAaron Bradley, moderator · Lance Robertson · Summit Ballroom
The Small Residential Licensing Bill passed in 2024 and how the Department of Disability and Aging plans to implement the Tier 1 Residential License for the Elderly. Safe housing alternatives prevent abuse and exploitation.
Concurrent · Salon A/B
Scams stop here: consumer education for older adults
Phil Gentile, moderator · Claire Marsalis, Director of Consumer Affairs, Office of the Tennessee Attorney General
The scams older adults report most often to the Division of Consumer Affairs, and the preventative strategies that help them identify, avoid and recover.
11:45 – 1:00Awards luncheon Paul Greenwood, moderator · Representative Dennis Powers presenting the awards
1:00 – 1:30Transition to afternoon sessions · announcements and call to action
1:30 – 4:45Comprehensive ethics training3 hours CLETracy Armstrong, moderator · Amelia Hamilton, Assistant District Attorney, Knox County · Summit Ballroom
Delivered in two blocks — 1:30 – 3:00 and 3:15 – 4:45 — in the Summit Ballroom.
Concurrent · Salon A/B · 1:30 – 3:30
NCEA — EAGLE training, open to all law enforcement
Paul Greenwood, moderator · Lori Mars, Director, Elder Abuse Guide for Law Enforcement, National Center on Elder Abuse
